Q. “I just discovered I cooked the turkey with the package of giblets still inside the cavity. Are the turkey and giblets safe to eat?”

A. If giblets were left in the cavity during roasting, even though this is not recommended, the turkey and giblets are probably safe to use. However, if the packaging containing the giblets has changed shape or melted in any way during cooking, do not use the giblets or the turkey because harmful chemicals from the packaging may have penetrated the surrounding meat.

Q. “ What should I do? I put a 20-pound turkey in a 200 °F oven before I went to bed last night, and the pop-up timer says it’s already done at 7:30 this morning. We won’t be eating until 3 p.m.”

A. You have two problems here. First, overnight cooking of meat at a low temperature isn’t a safe method so we don’t recommend eating this turkey. It’s not safe to cook any meat or poultry in an oven set lower than 325 °F. At 200 °F, meat remains in the “Danger Zone” too long (between 40 and 140 °F) where bacteria multiply rapidly and can form toxins.

Secondly, holding a safely cooked turkey at a safe internal temperature of 140 °F or above for this amount of time can dry it out and affect the quality. If a safely cooked turkey must be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for optimal safety and quality it should be carved and refrigerated in covered shallow containers and served cold or reheated to an internal temperature of 165 °F. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature.

One More Safety Reminder

Every year, pretty much without exception, the post-Thanksgiving police blotters of communities throughout Kane County are littered with items about the local police or fire department called to someone’s home for a fire involving turkey fryers. Don’t let that happen to you.